I am considering moving to Thailand and was in contact with TESOL Asia Suratthani which operates under many different names so difficult to research them. Does anyone have any information about TESOL-Asia Surat Thani dba Oonrak International Bilingual School with John Auger and Suwajee Auger listed as the owners/directors (http://tesol-asia.com/directors.html)? Having one of the owners as a government education official in the area always makes me nervous.

I was able to find this and a couple more but wondering if anyone else had an experience? I have heard of many companies in Thailand messing with your final pay to try to keep as much as possible without paying what was due per the contract.

I went to Thailand seeking more teaching experience and a reference letter. Having been lied about at several of my past teaching positions, coming by a reference has been difficult. I wanted to prove to myself that I still desired to be a teacher and that the troubles I faced here in the US came from others and not myself. I failed yet again in obtaining my objective. I succeeded in fulfilling my obligation as a teacher yet I was denied my continued salary and bonus for contract completion. I was being terminated by my supervisor after finals had been graded, after grades had been reported for the year.

I was not to be paid for the remainder of the month nor was I to get my teaching bonus of about $2000. I was also told I would not be receiving a reference. The reasons I was given were that I moved out of my apartment w/o giving notice. I moved out because the heat was so bad I got a headache. Imagine living in the tropics without air conditioning for a year while paying 50 percent more for your apartment than your next door neighbor. My TESOL Asia supervisor collected the rent and was receiving a kickback or payment for placing me there.

I was later told by a native Thai teacher that worked at the school that none of the Western Teachers ever received their bonuses. I appreciate the fact that no one told me for the entire year. So I came home with three hundred dollars to my name, extended credit for my flights, and a broken heart. I will be more careful next time. Oh and about my attitude towards teaching, I still like it, I just do not like other Westerners as it was an English man who took advantage of me.

John Auger was the man that recruited me. He took taxes out of my pay, which I was entitled to after the year as teachers are entitled to two years of tax free pay per treaty with Thailand. He did not reimburse me the money for the work permit, which was 6000 on THB. His wife took me to get chair and satellite tv one day after re-rupturing my achilles tendon. I was in a cast. The price went from 4000 to 4500 THB for the chair. The cable was 5000 THB but as I later found out there was not installation charge and the money did not cover first or last month’s payment. True Visions only collects 2000 THB as a deposit for the cable box. I asked for a receipt many times for the 5000 THB but never received one. I received a receipt each and every time I paid my bill at the office without hesitation. The woman pocketed the 3000THB plus the 500 THB for the chair. John Auger told me not to pay the final two months cable bill as I would not get my deposit back from the company. I let the bills go but at the immigration office the wife brought the cable people to collect payment from me and took it out of my pay of 12 days worked in March.
I then had to extend my visa for two weeks at time and pay 1900THB each time rather than go home with no worries as my non-immigrant B visa was good well past my departure date. I did get my deposit back a couple of months later, yet another lie.

Money owed: 31000
contract completion bonus
9 months taxes x 1300 THB = 11700 THB
Chair and Cable rip off 4500 THB
Work permit 6000 THB
Partial month’s pay March = 21000 THB
Apartment rip off 1800THB x 9/ 2 = 8100THB
Total 82500 THB.
Today’s currency rate $2636.54

Let’s not forget that I had to pay for my airfare to Thailand and for airfare from BKK to Nikon Sri Tammarat. I then had to pay for my airfare home gain. So
not much money to be made by working in Thailand for this gentleman. Certainly not worth it if you do not get the reference.

I received a reference letter from John Auger which was filled out on a specific job form. He refused to fill out an online reference for me in December
of 2009 for a search firm which holds recruiting fairs. He told me he never received the email. Funny how my friend and a parent both received the
email.

He said I was an excellent teacher and in February of 2010 ask me to take over his position as he wanted to retire. He planned to pay me 75,000 THB a
month. I could not as I desperately wanted to go home after a year in Thailand. At some point I might have returned to resume that or another position but not after the way I was treated. I could not act towards the other teachers the way John Auger treated them. I could not work for him or his wife. An example, Richard from Ghana was an English teacher. His wife who is Australian, became very sick and needed/wanted to go back to Australia to get medical attention. Richard wanted to take two weeks off to go with her. John Auger ‘s wife told him that if he left he would lose his job. He stayed behind. However, the wife left on her own to take a flight from Phuket to Australia and became even sicker, she could not make it on her own. Richard drove to get her and make sure she made her flight. He missed one day of work. He was then fired. All the African teachers that worked for John Auger knew about this and his other deeds.
At a Christmas party the Africans were holding, I was in attendance when John Auger arrived. Half the teachers immediately left the party. The other teachers
stayed, probably assuming that if they left, they might be the next ones terminated. Pretty sad.

Of course the actions of this man do not take place without the complicit owner of the school Ming or Mrs. Pirom Dancharoenvanakit
If I brought such disgrace to the school, then why are so many pictures of me still on the school’s website?